In the midst of a public outpouring of rage and disgust over the behavior of how and where various free agents decided to exercise their fair and legal rights to relocation, the cost of all this hoopla on the world championships has been overlooked.

Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh? Too wrapped up with free agency. Wade cited his divorce, which was finalized last week. Carlos Boozer changed teams. Carmelo Anthony isn’t a free agent, but he got married Friday and needs some family time. That’s understandable.

Others have more pressing reasons. Kobe Bryant played through pretty much every injury possible last year. Chris Paul is coming back from a knee injury. Deron Williams has a family matter. Dwight Howard just isn’t participating.

It’s their own prerogative. They have every right to take care of their own business and lives, especially after bringing home the gold in 2008. It simply seems a little odd given the commitment previously given, and the fact that the world championships are a process, not a prize.

But the good news is that the B-Team is still going to be brilliant, and man, is it going to be fun. Tyreke Evans, Lamar Odom, Amar’e Stoudemire, Stephen Curry, Chauncey Billups, Rudy Gay, David Lee, Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo.

But the star of the show?

Kevin Durant.

This rendition of Team USA is made up of players that take the honor seriously, we know for sure, just as the ‘8 team did. They are younger, outside of Billups, and will likely be getting up and down the floor. Durant brings the star potential, and alongside his very humble announcement of his extension with the Thunder, this brings him further forward as possibly the next greatly popular NBA star (as if that Thunder playoff run didn’t already get him there).

So the top level guys are too worn out from visiting neat places and moving their stuff. There’s a next generation of NBA stars that are prepared to take on the world. We’ll see how it goes.

Not the whole team. Likely centers include Brook and Robin Lopez, Al Jefferson, Kevin Love, and David Lee. They might give Odom and Stoudemire time at center depending on their competition. The international game requires bigs who are comfortable on the perimeter, and Amare played center for them in 2007 and was destroying opposing bigs on the perimeter with his ability to dribble penetrate and run pick ‘n roll.